proximity

[prok-sim-i-tee]

See more synonyms for proximity on Thesaurus.com

noun

nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, or relation.

Origin of proximity

First recorded in 1475–85, proximity is from the Latin word proximitās nearness, vicinity. See proximal, -ity

Related formsnon·prox·im·i·ty, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for proximity

closeness, concurrence, propinquity, juxtaposition, togetherness, adjacency, contiguity, immediacy

Examples from the Web for proximity

Contemporary Examples of proximity

She sends a miniature of her own image to the court, envious that it will enjoy a proximity she will never attain.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun
Katie Baker
November 8, 2014
They make us realize, he explains, that “proximity is important to entrepreneurship.”
How Young People Are Destroying Liberty
James Poulos
October 11, 2014
Afterwards, unable to live in proximity to their killers, she moved into this village.
After the Genocide, Rwanda’s Widows Aging Alone
Nina Strochlic
August 31, 2014
“[Obama] had to do [strike] because of the proximity of the ISIS Howitzers to our defensive areas and our own people,” he said.
McCain Calls Obama's 'Pinprick' Iraq Strikes 'Meaningless' and 'Almost Worse Than Nothing'
Josh Rogin
August 8, 2014
Harlow has some proximity to the Senate and House investigation.
From Waterboarding to Benghazi, CIA Faces Two-Front War by Congress
Eli Lake
April 4, 2014

Historical Examples of proximity

She dropped into her chair, with a flash of resentment at the proximity of the other table.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
The situation was, however, complicated by the proximity of the Afghan frontier.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
He believed afterward that before he saw him he had felt the proximity of Slade.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
She made him appear at his best, but she cheapened that best by her proximity.
The Greater Inclination
Edith Wharton
Does that mean that I should take advantage of its proximity and leave?
One Day's Courtship
Robert Barr

British Dictionary definitions for proximity

proximity

noun

nearness in space or time
nearness or closeness in a series

Word Origin for proximity

C15: from Latin proximitās closeness; see proximate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for proximity

late 15c., from Middle French proximité "nearness" (14c.), from Latin proximitatem (nominative proximitas) "nearness, vicinity," from proximus "nearest, next; most direct; adjoining," figuratively "latest, most recent; next, following; most faithful," superlative of prope "near" (see propinquity).